Page 49 of Bonding with the Beta (Fated Souls #2)

49

KAYLEIGH

“ H ave you guys seen Kayden?” I ask Ava and Jaxon as I approach them.

Jaxon looks up at me with Aurora in his arms as he shakes his head. “No. Why?”

I run my fingers through the ends of my hair. “He said he needed a moment, and I thought he’d come back inside, but I can’t find him.”

“Maybe he’s still out there,” Ava says, and I chew on my lip.

“Maybe.” I nod as I glance over my shoulder. “I’m gonna go have a look.”

“I’ll come with you,” Ava says as she links her arm through mine. “I could do with some air.”

We walk across the grand hall before stepping outside onto the patioed area that overlooks the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen filled with roses and peonies. Ava pauses and inhales deeply, and I scan the patio.

My entire body turns rigid as Ava snaps her gaze at me.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

I’m shaking aggressively as I stare ahead at Kayden and…some woman who is holding him close. Their foreheads are pressed against one another as she smiles and beams up at him. Her hands are tenderly touching his face as if they’re lovers.

That magnetic force I’ve seen before with Ava and Jaxon? It’s right here in front of me.

My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat. I push it down, but seconds later, it returns, and I’m fearful I’m about to throw up everywhere.

“Kayleigh,” Ava says worriedly as she follows my eyeline. “Don’t…wait?—”

I ignore her and walk straight towards them.

My heels click against the floor, and the woman glances in my direction as I stare her down. Her hands are on my man. She’s touching what’s mine.

“What the fuck is this?” I blurt when I am close enough.

Kayden snaps his attention to me and immediately moves away from her as if he’s been caught red-handed. “Kayleigh?—”

The woman steps in front of him and flashes a confused expression at me. “I’m Kayden’s mate. Who are you?”

My nostrils flare as her words bite at my soul. “I’m his girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” she recoils as if she’s been slapped.

I glance at Kayden, who is staring at me like he’s losing control of everything.

Heartbreak once? It hurts.

Heartbreak twice? It feels like falling off a cliff and knowing the painful ending will be inevitable.

“Kayden, please say something,” I rasp, tears welling in my eyes.

His mouth falls open as he looks between us. “Kayleigh, this isn’t—” He drags a hand down his haunted face. “I need?—”

“ Me . He needs me. Thanks for keeping him warm for me,” she cuts him off before pressing a possessive hand to his chest. The action makes me want to rip her damn face off. “I’ll take over from here. It’s where he belongs and will always belong . ”

Her words stab me right through the chest until I’m a bleeding mess.

“Harley,” Kayden’s voice is low, “stop.”

A tear drips down my face as I stare back at him in disbelief. My heart shatters into pieces so small that it could never be put back together the same again.

I wait for him to give me some kind of reassurance. Something. Anything.

But he doesn’t.

“Well,” I choke painfully. “Thanks for being such a fucking coward, Kayden. I hope you two are very happy together.”

“Oh, trust me,” Harley flashes me a sarcastic smile, “we will be. Thanks for your concern.”

I turn on my heel and walk across the patio before I kill her out of burning hatred. My throat clenches, and I resist the urge to scream. Kayden and Harley’s voices erupt into a heated discussion behind me, but I zone them out.

“Kayleigh.” Ava rushes to my side as I frantically push away the tears that stain my cheeks. “Kayleigh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. None of us?—”

I turn around, and she halts before I reach the steps towards the car park. “You knew exactly what a bond feels like, what having a mate feels like,” I sob, my heart hollow. “You should have warned me. You should have told me what was going to happen. You should have told me to stay away.”

Ava’s face deteriorates. “I’m sorry, Kayleigh. Don’t leave. You’re upset.”

I shake my head in disbelief and turn around. “I can’t be here.”

My hands dig around in my bag to call myself an Uber because I cannot stay a second longer. If I see them together again, I’ll break.

“Kayleigh. Kayleigh. Wait, please,” Kayden’s voice echoes from behind me.

A sob wracks my throat, and I hunch forward, releasing everything at the sound of him calling my name. “Please, just listen to me,” he begs, but I don’t turn around.

He grabs my wrist, and I retract like his touch is poison.

“Don’t touch me,” I grit out.

“Please, look at me,” he exhales, the words nothing but a desperate mess of emotions. “Kayleigh, please.”

My jaw tightens as I turn to face him.

If I thought I looked broken, he looks dishevelled.

“This isn’t what it looks like.” He holds his hands out flat in defence.

My eyes burn red. “Do you think I’m fucking blind?”

A troubled sigh leaves his lips as he drags a hand through his messy hair. “I know what you saw was?—”

“God,” I shout over him. “I’m so stupid. How could I fall for all of your lies?”

“I just need a few days to figure everything out,” he murmurs. “I need my wolf to?—”

“Need a few days to figure everything out?” I repeat in disbelief, the words dying on my tongue. He might as well shove a stake through my heart while he’s at it. “Do you mean to decide who you prefer? If you want to be with her or me. I won’t be second-best to anyone.”

Kayden’s jaw slackens, and he shakes his head. “You aren’t second-best.”

I release a dry laugh. “So, you expect me to sit at home while I know you’re with her?” I mumble as tears continue to stain my cheeks. “You want me to wait for you while you take her on dates and get to know her and then fuck her on the kitchen counter?”

His chest quivers, eyes glistening with regret. “I would never fucking do that to you.”

“You promised me that if she came, you wouldn’t do this to me. You promised me,” I hiss through my teeth. “You said you love me, but this doesn’t feel like love; this feels like betrayal.”

Kayden’s throat tenses, and he holds a shaky hand towards me. “I love you, Kayleigh,” he says simply. “I love you, and you know it.”

Before he can touch me, I back away. “Do you?” I challenge him. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t be telling me you need to figure things out with her.”

He buries his head in his hands and releases a frustrated groan, but I have no sympathy for him. He knew what game he was playing.

“If you had even the tiniest inkling that you were going to end up with her, you should have told me,” I yell. “You shouldn’t have led me on. You shouldn’t have made me fall in love with you so I could keep you satisfied in the meantime!”

Kayden’s eyes begin to burn with fury. “I never used you for anything.” His jaw tightens. “What we have is so fucking special. But I don’t expect you to understand what I’m going through right now.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t. But maybe if you couldn’t stick to your word, you shouldn’t have said anything at all,” I spit before walking away again.

“Fuck.” Kayden steps directly in front of me. “You can’t leave like this.”

I bark out another laugh, but it dies in my throat. “Can’t I? You’ve already chosen her. So, what’s the point?”

Kayden flinches, brows falling together. “I haven’t chosen her.”

“Stop it.” I grit my teeth and resist the urge to rip out my hair. “Stop fucking with my head! You can’t tell me that you need a few days with her and that you haven’t chosen her. Shove your stupid lies up your ass. I’ve seen what a matebond can do. We’ve all seen Ava and Jaxon. I know if you spend a day with her, you’ll forget I ever existed.”

“Kayleigh—” He reaches out desperately.

“You’ll fall in love with her,” I murmur through my tears. “And I’ll be left with nothing.”

My stomach aches, and bile rises in my throat at the thought. I cover my hand with my mouth and glance away. The pain that wrecks my body is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

“That is not true,” he rasps.

I turn towards him and flick my gaze between his strained eyes. “Are you going home with her, or are you coming home with me?”

Kayden’s chest heaves rapidly. “I’m not going home with her, Kayleigh. But I need to sort this out. I know you won’t understand, but I’m begging you to try. She deserves answers, too.”

My eyelashes brush my cheekbone. “Right,” I whisper. “I see.”

I press a hand to his shirt and shove him away. My phone vibrates in my palm to alert me my Uber is here. I glance around the car park and walk towards the right car.

“Please don’t do this.” Kayden follows me.

I scoff to myself and wipe my face as I reach the Uber door. I turn to glance up at him with mascara-stained eyes. “You’ve already done it. Don’t you see that?”

Without another word, I slip into the car and slam the door in his face without looking back at him through the window. As soon as the driver pulls away from the curb and out of the establishment, I allow myself to crumble.

How did I end up back here again?

Because you are so breakable.